Adjustable dress-form.



C. A. UFFORD.

ADJUSTABLE DRESS FORM. APPLICATION FILED APR. 15, 1914 1,259,808. Patented Mar. 19, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

Fig. 7. Fig. 1.

as? 2a WiTnesses. 4 lnvenror. Charles A. Ufford' byWaM ATr'ys To all whom it may concern:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES A. urronn, oreos'rolv, massacnusnrrs.

ADJUSTABLE nnEss-romm.

Be it knownthat I, CHARLES A. Urroim, a citizen of the United States, residing at Boston, county of Suffolk, State of Massachusctts, have invented an Improvement in Adjustable Dress-Forms, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, is a specification, like characters on the drawing representing like parts.

This invention relates to adjustable dress forms such as, are used for dressmakers,"

models, and the principal object of the invention is to provide a dress form of this type which can be more readily adjusted into different sizes and shapes thandress forms as now commonly made.

The type of adjustable dress. formwvhich is most commonly used for dressmakers models is one in which the body portion is made in sections that are adjustable rel.a tive to each other so as to permit of the div mensions and shape of the form being vat ried at will. the operation of adjusting the size of the waist involves more or less difiiculty due, to the fact that the sections of the 'form at thewaist are held in their adjusted position by stay members and clamping bolts which can only be reached for manipulation by inserting the hand throughthe armhole of the :torm'.

One of the features of my present inven, tion relates to a novel construction by which the waist portion of the form can bevery readily adjusted to any desired size without reaching into the interior of the form to manipulate clamping bolts or connecting devices, this object being herein accomplished by providing the form with auto.-

maticallyoperating means for expanding th waist, and also with an adjustable size-determining member by which the automatic expanding action of said means is controlled and the size of the waist thereby determined. In dress forms of this type it is desirable that the shoulder sections should be capable of adjustment to broaden or narrow the shoulders without affecting the size of the neck band, and my invention, therefore, comprises a novel construction by which this end may be accomplished and which will be fully hereinafter described and then pointed out in the claims.

The'invention also embodies a novel, con, struction of the skirt; portion of the form Specification of Letters Patent.

In many of such dress forms,

Pat n ed Mar- 1 ,191

Application filed April 15, 1914. Serial No. 832,074.

bywhieh the latter may be lengthened shortened as desired, or entirely removed from the body portion of the form.

Referring to the drawings wherein I have illustrated a selected embodiment of my invention from which the principle thereoi will be readily. understood, Figure 11 is a front elevation of a form embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view through the fastening for securing the skirt section to the waist, section; Fig. 3; is a vertical sectional view through the body portion of a dress form embodying my invention showing the interior of the front of the form;

Fig. 4 is acsimilar view showing the in terior of the back of the form;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the manner in which the shoulder sections are adjusted;

Fig. dis a top plan view of the form;

Fig. 7 is a side view of the upper portion of the form;

Fig. 8 is a view of the expansion member which may be used between sections of the form to assist in separating them{ Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 2' showing a modified construction.

The complete form as shown in Fig. 1

comprises a bodyportion and a skirt'por- N tion, both of which are sustained by acen tral supporting rod or member lj that risesfrom a suitable base 200. as usual in drem forms of this nature. The body portion of the form is made in separate sections which are adjustable relative to each other, and these sections may conveniently be made of papier mach, or similar material, as is the common practice in dress forms of this nature.

The body" of the form may be divided in' various places so as to make: a greater or vent' i'anv might be embodied in a form'hawing a single division line at the waist, I will preferably divide the form at two places at or nearthe waist, as shown by the division lines 2 and 3. The form is also trally, and both the front and rear of the form are divided at the sides through the shoulders, this manner of dividing providinginner and outer shoulder portions, the inner shoulder portions being those adjacent the neck and the outer shoulder portions being'those at theside of the form. Where the form is divided transversely through the shoulders into front and rear halves, as herein shown, it will have the front and rear outer shoulder sections 7 and 8, and the front and rear inner shoulder sections 9 and 10. In addition I have shown the form divided transversely along the line 11, and the front of the form as divided transversely above the bust along the line 12 thereby providing the central sections 13 in both the front and the rear of the form and the bust sections 14 in the front of the form. These various sections are adjustable relative to each other to permit of changing the size and shape of the form, as will be presently described.

The hip sections 5 are sustained on the central supporting rod 1 in any suitable way so as to permit of their being adjusted to vary the size of the hips. As herein shown the rod 1 has secured thereto a supporting memberlli having slotted arms 16 and the various hip sections have leaves or plates 17 secured thereto and extending inwardly therefrom which overlie the slotted arms 16 and are adjustably secured thereto by clamping bolts 170, as usual in devices of this class. V

The waist sections 6 are preferably hinged to the hip sections 5 by any suitable hinge construction, as shown at 18, although such a hinge constructionis not necessarily es sential to the invention. The upper portion of the form comprising the bust sections and central sections can be raised or lowered relative to the hip and waist sections thereby to lengthen or shorten the waist, and this shoulder portion of the form isheld in its adjusted position by means carried by the central rod 1. Moreover,

the connection between the shoulder section andthe hip and waist section is such as to allow of tires vertical movement of the shoulder section without the necessity of reaching into the form to unclamp bolts or other connections. In fact the only clamptherefrom, and these guiding members extend through openings in guides 20 secured to the waist sections and are freely movable therein. The guides 20 may be made in any suitable way, but are herein shown as formed of pieces of sheet metal secured to the waist sections and having their edges bent up to form the inwardly-directed flanges 21 in which the guiding openings for guiding members 19 are formed. The members 19 will preferably be provided with laterally-extending lips 22 at their lower ends so as to prevent them from being withdrawn entirely from the guides 20 when the shoulder portion of the form is elevated. For holding the shoulder portion of the form in its vertically-adjusted position, I provide the neck of the form with slotted clamping plates 23 which are clamped between two clamping members 2-1 and 25 sustained on the-central supporting member. As herein shown the clamping member 24 is screwthreaded to a sleeve 26 which its over the upper end of the supporting rod 1 and is vertically adjustable thereon, it being held in its adjusted position by the set-screw 27. The clamping member 25 is carried by a sleeve 28 having a hand-wheel 29 at its upper end which is screw-threaded to the sleeve 26. By means of this construction it will be readily seen that when the set-screw 27 is loosened the sleeves 28, 26 to which the shoulder portions of the form are clamped can be adjusted vertically on the rod 1 thereby to separate the form at the horizontal division line 2 and lengthen the waist thereof. The central sections 13 of the rear half of the form are secured to the shoulder sections by slotted connecting members 30 which are shown as permanently fastened at one end to the central section 13, andas adjustably clamped to the shoulder sections by clamping bolts 31. Similar connecting members 30 are shown between the bust sections 14 and the outer shoulder sections.

'1 have shown the bust sections Mas hinged to the upper end of the front central sections 13 by means of hinge connections 32, although any other suitable connections might be used at this point. 1 have also shown a sliding'connection between the central bust, section 14 and the front inner shoulder section, this connection comprising guiding fingers 34 secured to the bust 1,259,soe

The advantage ofthe construction above described is that the raising and lowering of the shoulder portion of the form to lengthen or shorten the waist does not require that the operator shall reach his hand into the interior of the form, for it will be noted that the operation of lengthening the waist involves merely loosening the setscrew 27 and then raising the shoulder por' tion of the form, said form being separated at the division line 2 and the guiding members19 sliding through the guides 20 during this operation.

Another feature of my invention relates to the manner in which the waist of the form is adjusted as to circumferential size, and I have herein provided means whereby this can be accomplished without reaching into the interior of the form to operate any set-screws, or adjusting nuts or other clamping devices. The construction herein shown comprises automatically-operative waist-expanding means which tend normally to expand the form at the waist, and a size-determining device by which the size of the waist is determined. The adjustment of the waist size is accomplished merely by adjusting the size-determining member, and as this is accessible from the'exterior of the form, the adjustment of the waist can be quickly and accurately accomplished. The size-determining member is preferably in the form of a tape encircling the form at the waist, which tape is graduated so that the actual size of the waist of the form can be readily preserved. The waist-expanding means will preferably be in the form of a spring or springs which are acting "on'the waist sections at all times and normally tending to expand them outwardly, the expansive movement of the spring being limited and determined by the size-determining tape. lVhile various constructions embodying this feature of my invention might be adopted, that shown in Figs. 3 and a is the preferred construction, and as illustrated in these figures, the supporting rod 1 has a sleeve 36 slidably mounted thereon, which sleeve is connected by meansof links or thrust members 37' to the various waist sections, said thrust members preferably being connected to the flanges 21' of the guides 20. The sleeve 36 is acted upon by a waistexpanding spring 38' which encircles the rod 1 and is confined between an adjustable collar 89 on the rod and said sleeve. The downward expansive movement of the spring 38 on the sleeve 36 acts through the connections 37' to forcev the waist sec-tions 6 outwhen, a ll be "read y pparent The sizewdet-ermining member is shew as a tape d0 which encircles the waist and which 'is adjustable as to its length. This tape will preferably'be provided with graduations so that the'exact circumferential measure of the waist can be read. Figs. 3 and 4 show the waist in its contracted position. If it is desired to enlarge the waist, as shown by dotted lines, Fig. 3, the operator merely unbuckles and loosens the tape 40, and-as soon as th1s is done the expansive movement of the spring 38 will force the waist sec.- tions 6 outwardly as far as permitted by the tape 40. If it is desired to reduce'the size of the waist from an enlarged position, the tape 40 is merely drawn up tighter, this operation acting tocontract the waist sections and also the spring 38. It will thusbe seen that the operation of expanding and contracting the waist is automatic and can be accomplished without reaching into the form and manipulating varlous clamping devices.

It will be noted from Fig. 7 that the central rod 1 is offset, as at 98, both above and below the sleeve 36 and the spring 38, so that the portion of the rod on which the sleeve and spring are located is out of line with the ends of the rod. The purpose of thisconstruction is to bring the sleeve 36' and spring 38 nearer the center of the waist than would be the case if the supporting rod 1 were entirely straight so that the action of the spring 38 will be-subst-antially uniform on all of'the waist sections. It will also be noted that the thrust members 37 which connect to the rear waist sections are secured tothe sleeve 36 at a point above those connected to the front waist sections and I employ this construction so as to secure a more even action on all of the waist sections.

The sleeve 36 is loosely mounted on the rod 1, and in order to prevent any tendenoy of the sleeve twisting around the rod the supporting member 15 is made rigid with the rod, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. By this means the sleeve 36 and thrust member 37 will always be maintained in their proper position. By making the collar 39 adjustable on the rod 1 the tension of the spring can be varied, and said spring can be given such a tension as will operate properly for any size of waist.

In order to provide forreadily varying the contour of thetop of the shoulders of the form, I prefer to hinge thetop edge of the front and rear shoulder sections together. As herein shown the front and rear outer shoulder sections are conneeted together by a hinged connecting member 41, the leaves of whieh are preferably adjustablyconnected to the shoulder sections by clamping screws 42 extending through le s n h ea S m larly th nner front rear-shoulder sections are eonneeted by a hinged connecting member 43. The hinge connection provides for making the top of the shoulders flatter or more peaked as desired, and the special form of hinged connection shown also provides for separating the front and rear shoulder sections more or less thereby to make the shoulders thicker or thinner as desired.

In a dress form of this type it is desirable that the outer shoulder sections should be capable of adjustment toward and from the inner sections to provide for widening or narrowing the shoulders, and in the pres ent embodiment of the invention the hinge connections 41 are provided with shoulderpositioning arms 47 which at their inner ends are secured to the slotted clamping plates 23 above'described so that the members 47 form direct connections between these clamping plates and the outer shoulder sections. By loosening the clamping member 25, the outer shoulder sections 7, 8 with the connections 47 can be adjusted outwardly or inwardly, and then held in adjusted position by tightening'the clamping member 25. I also preferablymake use of the connection 47 as a guiding means for the hinge connecting members 43, said connections 47 being shown as constituting the pintles for these hinge connections 43. The connections 47 can slide back and forth through the hinge connections 43 so as to allow of the outward adjustment of the shoulder sections 7 8 without disturbing the inner shoulder sections 9, 10.

The connections 47 will preferably be resilient so that the outer ends or tips of the shoulderscan be raised or lowered thereby to make the shoulders more or less slanting.

In my present construction I provide a one-piece neck band which can be adjusted as to size independently from any of the shoulder sections. This neck band is shown at 48 and is in the'form of a metal band, the ends of which overlap and are clamped together by a clamping screw 19. This neck band has a slotted positioning arm 50 extendin inwardly therefrom, which member eniloraces the sleeve 26 and is held in adjusted position between the clamping members 24, 25, together with the clamping plates 23. This neck band is shown as having guides 51 through which the connections 47 pass. The neck band is thus entirely separate from the shoulder sections and can be independently adjusted. This is an advantage because it provides for an independent adjustment of the neck and shoulders of the form.

The skirt portion of the form is preferably madepin sections 54, there being one section for each of the hip sections of the form, and these skirt sections are shown as detachably connected to the hip sections. Each hip section is shown as formed at its lower end with two eyelets 55, and the skirt sections 54- each have a split pin 56 extend ing inwardly therefrom at its upper end, which pin can be forced through the eyelets. The ends of the pins are preferably enlarged, as at 57, and the resiliency of the pins will yieldingly hold them in place. By means of this construction the skirt sections can be readily applied to the form or re moved therefrom as desired.

The lower edge of the skirt portion is held in its desired adjusted position by means of braces 60 that are connected at their outer ends tothe lower end of the skirt portion and at their upper ends to a sleeve 61 slidably mounted on the supporting standard 1 and clamped in adjusted position by the set-screw 62.

I have provided the skirt portion of my form with an adjustable gage member which may be used for properly locating the hem at the bottom of the skirt. This gage member is known at 63 and is in the form of an annular band adjustable as to its circumferential length and detachably sustained in flexible arms 64 that are adjustably secured to the skirt portion of the form. As herein shown, the skirt portion of the form has blocks 6-5 secured thereto through which the upper ends of the arms 6% loosely pass, said arms being held in adjusted position by clamping screws 66. Bymeans of this construction the gage member 63 can be adjusted as to its height and thus located at any desired distance below the waist, and because of the flexibilty of the arms 6% it can be adjusted circumferentially to any desired diameter which in practice will be somewhat larger than the diameter of the skirt section at the bottom. I In using the form the gage member 63 is adjusted'to the proper height, depending upon the length which it is desired to give to the skirt, and when the skirt has been fitted the lower edge of the skirt is folded up around the gage member and pinned. lVhen the skirt is to be removed from the form the gage member is lirst disconnected from the arm 6% and removed with the skirt, said gage thus preserving in the skirt the proper line for the bottom edge of the skirt.

The gage member will preferably be graduated in inches so that its circumferential length can be readily read. Any. suitable connection between the arm 64 and the gage member may be provided which will admit of the gage member being detached.

As herein shown these arms 64 are provided at their lower ends with open hooks 131, in which the gage member 63 is received, suitable set-screws 132 being provided to lock the gage member in place.

I have illustrated in Figs. 3 and 8 an expanding connection which may be used between different sections to assist in adjusting the sections when; the form is to be enlarged- This expanding member is in the I form of a Ushaped spring 102, one end of which. is connected to one of two adjacent sections of the form and the other end of which is connected to the other of said sections. In the embodiment herein shownthis expanding member 102 is fastened at one end. to the upturned end 103 of the slotted connection 104: and the other end of the member has an arm 105 extending therefrom through which the clamping bolt 106 passes. This clamping bolt'106 andthe slotted connection 104 are commonly used for holding the sections of an adjustable dress form in their adjusted relation. The expanding member herein shownis resilient and its resiliency tends normally to open or spread apart'the sections of the form as soon as the nut on the clamping bolt 106 is loosened. This expanding member will be used in any part of the form, and in fact it could be used in the waist of the form for expanding the waist thereof in place of the automatically-acting expanding member shown in Figs. 3 and 4. 1

In Fig. 9 I have shown a device slightly different from that shown in Fig. 2, but having the same purpose, to wit: the securing of the skirt sections to the body sections. In the construction shown in Fig. 9 the straps 5.1 of theskirt sections are bent laterally .at their upper ends, as at 109, and are provided withtwo'spring catches 110. The sections of the body portion are provided with openings 111 which maybe formed either in the papier machmaterial of the Patent is: v

- I .1. The combination with a dress form cabody portion or in a metal strip 112 secured thereto. In either event the skirt sections can be attached to the body sections by merely inserting the laterally-bent ends 109 into the openings 111 until the spring catches pass through the openings when the latter spring outwardly and thus prevent the skirt portion from being withdrawn. The skirt portions, however, can be withdrawn by bending the spring catches inwardly sufiiciently to permit them to pass through the openings 111.

I may if desired. make the members 19 more or less flexible so thatthey will give laterally sufficiently to constitute a hinge connection between'the waist sections 6 and the body sections 13. I

Having described my invention, What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters pable of expanding and contracting circumferentially, of a slngle spring'only' tending toexpand' said dress form at all points of the circumference thereof, and an adjustable sizedetermining member restraining the expanding action of the spring and thereby determining the circumferential slze of the form. a Y

member to limit the expanding action of said s ring.

.3. he combination with a dress" form having an expansible and contractible waist portion, of a waist-expanding spring tending normally to expand the waistportion,

and-a size-determining tape su'rrounding'the waist portion by which the expanding action of the spring islimited.

4. The combination with a dress form ca pable of expanding and contracting circumferentially, ofa singlespring onlysituat'ed within the form and tending to expand it, and an adjustable size-determiningmember restraining the expanding action of' the spring and thereby determining the circmnferenti-al size of the, form.

15. In a dress form, the combination with a supporting rod, of aform supported thereby and made in sections capable of adjustment relative to each other to permit the form to be expanded or contracted circumferentially,

a form-expandingspring carried by the rod, a separate connection between said spring and each form section by which'the expanding action of the spring causes the form to expand, and a size-determining member to limit the expanding movement of the spring. 6. In a dress form, the combination with a supporting rod, of a form supported thereby and having an expansible and contractible Waist portion, a waist-expanding spring carried' by said rod, a pluralityof separate connections between said spring and the waist portion by which the expanding action ofthe springcauses the waist to expand, and a size-determining member by which the size of the waist iscontrolled. 7 In a dress form, the combination wit a supporting rod, of a form sustained thereby and capable of circumferential expansion "tion ofthe spring and thus determine the circumferential measurement of the form.

8. In a dress form, theicombination with a supportingrod,of a body portion divided to present hip .sectionsand Waist sections capable of relative movement to expand or Contract the sizeof the. waist, a Waist-expanding spring situated within the form, connections between the spring and all the waist sections by" which expanding action of thei' spring tends to expand the waist,

nection between the inner shoulder sections,

said means constituting a guide for and a tape surrounding the waist and by which the size of the waist is determined.

9. In a dress form, the combination with a body portion divided to present inner and outer shoulder sections capable of adjustment toward and from each other, of a central supporting rod, and connectionsat the top of the shoulder for connecting the rod directly to the outer shoulder sections and by which the latter are held in their adjusted position.

10. In a dress form, the combination with a body portion divided to present inner and outer shoulder sections capable of adjustment relative to each other to broadenor narrow the shoulders, of a shoulder-positioning member connected to each outer shoulder section at the top'thereof, means todclamp each member to the supporting ro 11. In a dress form, the combination with a supporting rod, of a body portion divided vertically through the shoulders to present inner and outer shoulder sections, connections between the outer shoulder sections and the supporting rod, anda one-piece adjustable neck band sustained by said rod.

12. In a dress form, the combination with a dress form divided vertically through the shoulders from side to side and from front to rear thereby to form inner and outer shoulder sections on both the front and rear of the form, of a hinge connection between the outer shoulder sections at the top of the form, and a hinge connection between the inner shoulder sections at the top of the form. V

13. In a dress form, the combination with a supporting rod, of a body portion divided transversely through the shoulder to form front and rear halves and vertically through the shoulders from front to rear thereby to form front and rear inner and front and rear outer shoulder sections on each sideof the form, a hinge connection between the outer shoulder sections, another hinge connection between the inner shoulder sections, and means connecting the first-named hinge connection to the central supporting rod. 14. In a dress form, the combination with a supporting rod, of a body portion divided transversely through the shoulder to form front and rear halves and vertically through the shoulders from front to rear thereby to form front and rear inner and front and rear outershoulder sections on each side of the form, a hinge connection between the outer shoulder sections, another hinge conand means connecting the first-named hinge connection to the central supporting rod, the other hinge connection. a

15. In a dress form, the combination with a supporting rod, of a form supported thereby and made in sections capable of adjustment relative to each other to permit the form to be expanded or contracted circumferentially, a form-expanding spring surrounding the rod, connections between said spring and the form sections by which the expanding action of the spring causes the form to expand, and means for adjusting the tension of the spring.

16. In a dress form, the combination with a supporting rod, of a form supported thereby and made in sections capable of adjustment relative to each other to permit the form to be expanded or contracted circum- 'ferentially, a form-expanding spring surrounding the rod, connections between said spring and the form sections by which the expanding action of the spring causes the form to expand, and an adjustable collar on the rod against which the spring abuts and by which its tension may be adjusted.

17. The combination with a dress form divided vertically in a plurality of places to constitute a plurality of hip sections, of a Waist'section hinged to each hip section, automatically-operative mean connected to the waist sections and tending to expand the waist portion of the dress form, and a sizedetermining member for determining the waist size of said form. 18. Th'e combination with a dress form divided vertically in a plurality of places to constitute a plurality of hip sections, of a waist section hinged to each hip section, spring means acting on said waist sections and tending to expand the form at the waist line, and means to limit the expanding movement of said spring means.

19. In a dress form, the combination with a supporting rod, of a dress form sustained thereby and divided into a plurality of sections capable of adjustment relative to each other to permit the form to be expanded or contracted circumferentially at the waist, a form-expanding spring surrounding the rod, connection between said spring and the form sections by which the expanding action of the spring causes the form to expand, and means to limit the expanding action of said spring, said rod being offset both above and below said spring whereby the latter is situated approximately centrally of the waist section. I

20. In a dress form, the combinationwith a supporting rod, of a form supported thereby and divided to present inner and outer shoulder sections capable of adjustment relative to each other to prolong or narrow the shoulders, a flexible shoulder-positioning member connected to each outer shoulder section, and means to clamp each member to the supporting rod.

21. In a dress form, the combination with two sections adjustable relative to each other, of clamping means for retaining said sections in adjusted relation to each other, said clamping means including a clamping bolt, and an expanding member in the form of a Ushaped springfixedly secured at one end to one section and connected at the other end to the clamping bolt whereby when the bolt is loosened the expanding member autoat one end to one of said sectionsand having an arm extending from the other end Which is sWiveled on said clamping bolt.

23. A dress form comprising a plurality of sections adjustable relative to each other, in combination With flexible members rigidly secured to certain sections and overlying and slidably connected to other adjacent sections and means for clamping saidflexible connections to said other sections thereby providing means for adjusting the sections to- Ward and from each other and by their flexibility allowing the connected sections to swing radially relative to each other.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

CHARLES A. UFFORD.

Witnesses:

LOUIS C. SMITH, THOMAS J. DRUMMOND,

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0. 

